Doval to pay key visit to China next week

National security advisor Ajit Doval will visit China next week to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart to discuss the vexed border dispute and other strategic issues, it was announced here on Thursday.

Mr Doval, who is also the special representative for Sino-India boundary talks, will hold a dialogue with his Chinese counterpart and state councillor Yang Jiechi on January 5 during which both officials would review the progress made on the border issue, Chinese officials said.

During his visit here, Mr Doval would also call on Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on January 6. India and China have so far held 18 round of talks to resolve the dispute along the 3488 km-long border.

Besides the annual dialogue on the border, the special representatives also meet to review the progress and discuss a host of strategic issues concerning bilateral relations including issues related to the neighbourhood.

The developments come as China seeks to deepen its engagement with countries in South Asia, which in turn has raised concerns in India.

For its part, China says the border dispute is concerned only to the eastern sector, especially Arunachal Pradesh, which it claims as a part of southern Tibet, while India asserts that the dispute includes the western sector, specially the area occupied by China in the 1962 war.